Galerie Sommerlath and French 50s 60
French furniture of the 1950s and '60s is currently enjoying a renaissance of interest and enthusiasm with designers and collectors. There is a "joie de vivre" which resonates through the designs of this period. After World War II, designers could not use expensive veneers and woods; as a result designs became minimalist. A new modernity was born. Designers also adapted furniture, textiles and objects to the means of production. The industrial aesthetic that Modernism adopted came out of the manufacturing processes. French designs of the '50s and '60s are light with more acute angles than American and Danish designs which feature broader angles and heavier shapes. "It's creative and contrary to what was being done just before during the '30s and '40s," according to French '50s – '60s owner, Michele Sommerlath. "It was a new era of industrial design in France. It's the first time that designers were interested in the function of furniture, not just the aesthetics," according to Ms. Sommerlath. Michele Sommerlath has been dealing in the art of French antiques and collectibles for more than 30 years specializing in 19th-Century, Art Deco, and Mid-Century Modern.